When seeking government information, it is important for you to be able to distinguish between federal, state, and local government bodies. The situation is more complex than it might otherwise seem because of the U.S. system of federalism. The concept of federalism is complicated, but it essentially means that the U.S. federal government shares power with state and local governments that exercise political authority over particular geographical regions. Thus, there may be three (and sometimes even more) government bodies that exercise authority or regulate a particular activity.
